FanHouse CheikhSamb

NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.

It took the subtraction of Allen Iverson to mend the Pistons, and while there is a chance his removal came a bit too late, Detroit needs to win just one more game to seal a playoff berth. The Pistons are now tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, a lucky spot that means avoiding a first-round clash with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.

It took the subtraction of Allen Iverson to mend the Pistons, and while there is a chance his removal came a bit too late, Detroit needs to win just one more game to seal a playoff berth. The Pistons are now tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, a lucky spot that means avoiding a first-round clash with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

Shaun Livingston had been reported to be one of the early victims on the traditional early January guillotine. If Livingston survived Wednesday, he'd see his full-season contract guaranteed. But the team told Livingston Tuesday he'd be waived on Wednesday. Miami instead shipped Shaun to Memphis for a conditional future second-rounder. [UPDATE: Memphis waived Livingston.]

Meanwhile in Memphis, Darius Miles saw his shot at a real comeback delayed (at least) as the Grizzlies cut him before his guaranteed contract kicked in. Miles has been with Memphis for a while, serving a 10-game suspension earned for alleged use of banned diet pills before playing limited minutes in two games for the Grizzlies. Portland's cap space gets a last-minute (possibly temporary) pardon from Memphis, I suppose.

The Clips played facilitator over the past two days. On Tuesday, L.A. took Cheikh Samb off Denver's hands in a Nuggets salary dump. (A minor one, at that.) Similarly, Toronto sent cheap swingman Hassan Adams to the Clippers Wednesday. L.A. promptly cut Adams.

Why even do this trade? The Raps could have cut Adams to prevent the guarantee of his full-season contract. But doing so would have set the already paid portion (a few hundred grand) against the team's 2008-09 cap. If Toronto ends up over the luxury tax line (likely), every dollar on the cap figure matters. L.A. is under the tax line, so the few hundred grand tagged as Adams' cap figure won't hurt at season's end (and L.A. isn't paying a dime of it). Team cap figures are calculated at season's end, so you'll see more meaningless moves like this in February.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Folks, when people talk about great players making everyone around them better, they're talking about Chauncey Billups.

He led the Nuggets in a 132-93 romp over the Raptors last night, scoring 24 points with 14 assists and just one turnover. That's an impressive line, but it's hardly mind-boggling given the score. But you know what is mind-boggling? How about the +48 Billups tallied in the new-fangled plus/minus column! He was efficient, too, racking up those gaudy numbers in just 32 minutes.

With the win, the Nuggets improved to 13-6 on the season, tying the franchise record for the most wins through 19 games. Yeah, I suppose you could say Denver came out ahead in last month's trade with Detroit. Even Cheikh Samb, who came over with Billups from the Pistons, got some burn last night, scoring four points with six boards and a pair of blocks in eight minutes.

When Denver jettisoned all-defense center Marcus Camby to Los Angeles for nothing more than cap space this summer, most figured the presence of several big-minute big men in Nuggets powder blue was at least a minor factor. Kenyon Martin nor Nene will be going anywhere soon; as Camby held solid trade value, it (almost) made sense to move him as a way of freeing up space for the others (and cash for owner Stan Kroenke).

But backup center Steven Hunter has been knocked out of play by recurring knee problems; George Karl believes Hunter may never play again. No Camby, no Hunter ... no Antonio McDyess. There's no one left behind K-Mart (who might miss a third straight game with a sprained wrist) and Nene but Cheikh Samb (more raw than steak tartare) and The Birdman, Chris Andersen (who has a broken rib and won't play until roughly Thanksgiving). The Nuggets aren't happy about it, writes Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News.

"We don't have no big men," the 6-foot-8 [Carmelo] Anthony said. "I was the big man (Tuesday at Charlotte when the small forward played some center). Why not (acquire another post player)? If there's somebody out there we can get, why not?"

Does trading Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb for Allen Iverson make sense on the court? We'll have to wait and see when AI takes the court with the Pistons for the first time tomorrow night in New Jersey. One thing is for sure, though: it's making cents off the court.

Apologies for the pun, but here are some numbers for you to chew on, courtesy of Detroit's PR department: the Pistons averaged over 5,000 individual ticket sales on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. In that same span, they've sold an additional 100 full-season tickets. The team has also taken over 1,000 orders for Iverson's new jersey. (Considering he's wearing the same number Billups did, the old "masking tape and marker" trick is a frugal alternative.)

Not surprisingly, the team's official web site has seen a major traffic spike, as well: after averaging just under 85,000 page views a day the week prior to the trade, it's averaged almost 490,000 page views over each of the last three days.

When will Iverson fans not living in metro Detroit be able to see Iverson play with his new teammates? They'll get two chances next week: the Pistons were already scheduled to appear on ESPN when they play the Lakers on Friday, Nov. 14, and TNT just picked up their game against the Warriors the night before. Fans hoping to see Billups in his new uni won't have to wait nearly as long: he's expected to play tomorrow when the Nuggets take on the Mavericks on ESPN.

Soon after the news broke that Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb were headed to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson, word started to trickle out that McDyess might retire than report

I can't say I was surprised -- I was in the Pistons' locker room after they were eliminated from the Conference Finals last year, and I saw McDyess fight back the tears while admitting to reporters that he already asked himself, "Hey, should I just retire?"

He added, "I don't want to be no ring-chaser, I don't want to be moving team to team being a ring-chaser. I can't do that. If I have to do that, I would definitely give it up. I mean, if I stay on this team another couple of years, we still have a chance, we just got to put our heart into it and do it."

Is Phil Jackson prepping for a stand-up tour? He follows his 'Brokeback' episode (including a vicious attack on sensationalist reportage) with this explanation for why Brian Cook started over Vladimir Radmanovic against the Pistons and Rasheed Wallace last night.

"Radmanovic last year, [Rasheed] Wallace toasted him and made fun of him and made 'Borat' jokes about him when he was out there," Jackson said beforehand.

Ah, Sheed. He certainly knows how to peg those funky Euros. Though he might be stretching it a little here; Vlad Rad clearly understands American culture more astutely than Borat, as seen in this stunning dance move.



Anyways, the P-Jax's Cook gambit sort-of paid off; Sheed went only 5-14 in the game, but Cook matched with 2-10 shooting. The story -- besides the Lakers win and Chauncey Billups' injury absence -- has to be the symbolic start of the Amir Johnson-Cheikh Samb reign of terror for Detroit: The gangly pair combined for six blocks in 33 minutes. Samb just turned 23 and Amir is 20. Fear them!

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports that the Pistons signed Antonio McDyess to a two-year extension on Monday. The $14.46 million extension will keep McDyess, who had a year remaining on his current deal, in Detroit through 2010.

There's no doubt that McDyess has been the team's most valuable reserve in his three years with the team, but retaining him does nothing to change the public perception that the Pistons are an aging team. But even though McDyess will be 35 years old by the time the deal expires, is that perception really accurate? Maybe not.

Considering the Pistons also announced the signing of second-round pick Sammy Mejia today, this year's roster will feature four rookies: first-round picks Rodney Stuckey and Aaron Afflalo, Mejia and last year's second-round pick Cheikh Samb. Plus, 20-year-old Amir Johnson, who recently signed a three-year deal to stay in Detroit, and Jason Maxiell, 24, are also expected to factor into Detroit's rotation this year. That's six players who are all under the age of 25, including four expected to see a lot of playing time this year. And of the starters, only two are on the wrong side of thirty: Rasheed Wallace is 32, and Chauncey Billups is 30. .

It's been said that the addition of McDyess in 2004-05 was one of the reasons Darko Milicic never had a chance to develop in Detroit. Will keeping McDyess around prevent Maxiell and Johnson from breaking out? It's possible, but the lack of a true center on this roster outside of Nazr Mohammed often results in McDyess seeing time at the five. Besides, if Johnson fills out, he could end up seeing time at center, and if Maxiell keeps the 30 pounds he shed this summer off, he could see at least some time at small forward.